Halloween is around the time where we're all bombarded with mid-term exam. After the exam, most of us begin to relax and slack off during the Thanksgiving weekend, only to come back to school and found out that the Final exam is 3 to 4 weeks away.
Exam Strategy:
1. Plan ahead of time:
Okay, it's not exactly helpful if you don't even know "when" is your exam. Admittedly, we sometimes show up to class, not knowing there was a test or quiz waiting. Therefore, it's crucial to look up your syllabus and mark down the day you will have a quiz, or big exam.
Then, decide how long should you prepare for the exam. Depend on your study habits, some people study everyday while others wait till the last minutes. While we're not an advocate of the 2nd option, we do find ourselves cramping in the last second before the exam. There is a saying "Do as we say, not as we do."
2. Priority your tasks and focus your attention
If you're having more than one exam happen in the same week, it's best to create a schedule for each subject you'll be tested on. The schedule is created based on the following criteria:
- Order of the exams: Generally speaking, we often study the subject that will be test first to the last one.
- Existing Knowledge: If there is a subject you're really good at (maybe you're just a natural); you might want to study it a bit later on even though it might be tested first. In the mean time, you should focus your energy to the subject you're weak at, since it will require more time for you to completely absorb the information. However, there are some who advocated otherwise; saying that you should study your favorite subject first and get it done with, then focus all of your energy on the remain weak subject. The first option is good for those who study everyday, and the 2nd option is more fitting for those who tend to study at the last minutes.
3. Structure and organize your study
If you do study everyday, it shouldn't be hard to create an exam study guide and summarize your knowledge. Again, if you don't, then you should go over your chapters and outline your "cheat sheet" few days before the exam. Apparently, 3 to 5 days ahead seem to be the magic number for late bloomer like us. Before or during the big day, few hours of last minute preparation should be sufficient. Again, if you're very confident about yourself, it might only take you 30 min to an hour for the review. For many others, we often spend over 2 to 3 hours prior to the exam.
4. Memorize Techniques
One of our friends share a tip that she often use during the test, or class presentation - that keep her memory on track. She would assign the test subject (terminology, business concept, data / chart..etc) to an image (which is easy to remember or funny). Each image / character represent an important material concept that will be tested, or mention during the presentation. Then, she kinda write her own story inside her head, that allow the character / image come to live and interact (relate) with each other.
It might sound complicate right now, but the idea is to attached an image or emotion to something you need to remember. For example, some students eat tangerine or smell the outer layer of the tangerine when they're studying for the test in Asia. When they are stuck at certain point during the test, the smell of tangerine aid them remember the materials, as the body's 5 senses remember stuff that we don't. Let us know how you study for your test and share your trick for memorization.
5. During the Exam
A good way to start your day is to arrive at your class 10 to 15 minutes earlier, to adjust your setting to "test-mode." In addition, it gives you enough time to relax, communicate with your classmates, and perhaps enough time to run and buy your test material (scan-tron, pencil, eraser) if you don't already bring it.
One of our friends share a tip that she often use during the test, or class presentation - that keep her memory on track. She would assign the test subject (terminology, business concept, data / chart..etc) to an image (which is easy to remember or funny). Each image / character represent an important material concept that will be tested, or mention during the presentation. Then, she kinda write her own story inside her head, that allow the character / image come to live and interact (relate) with each other.
It might sound complicate right now, but the idea is to attached an image or emotion to something you need to remember. For example, some students eat tangerine or smell the outer layer of the tangerine when they're studying for the test in Asia. When they are stuck at certain point during the test, the smell of tangerine aid them remember the materials, as the body's 5 senses remember stuff that we don't. Let us know how you study for your test and share your trick for memorization.
5. During the Exam
A good way to start your day is to arrive at your class 10 to 15 minutes earlier, to adjust your setting to "test-mode." In addition, it gives you enough time to relax, communicate with your classmates, and perhaps enough time to run and buy your test material (scan-tron, pencil, eraser) if you don't already bring it.
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